(San Diego, CA)- Racing at San Diego YC this past weekend in J/22s, 20
year-old Ryan Davidson, sailing for Balboa Yacht Club, swept the field
representing seven other yacht clubs to take the US Match Racing Area
GHJL Qualifier #2. Ryan now advances to the finals, also being held in
J/22s, at St. Francis YC in early October. Ryan and crew Brandon
Folkman and Gregg Kent turned in a flawless two days of match-racing,
finishing 14-0. In addition to outperforming his opponents in tactical
match-racing maneuvers, Ryan avoided mistakes in the pre-start and
accurately called pressure up the course to lead almost every match
wire-to-wire.
Relatively
consistent winds of 8-10 kt and flat water rewarded straight line boat
speed and two Bay Area teams, John Horsch from Treasure Island Sailing
Center and Nicole Breault from St. Francis Yacht Club, were just plain
fast, out-sailing the rest of the field (except for Davidson) and tied
for second, at 10-4, with Horsch winning the tie-breaker. His team
consisted of crew Amy Daniel and Karina Vogen, while Molly Carapiet, Jen
Glass and Hannah Burroughs sailed with Breault.The diverse field of competition revealed the upsurge in interest for match-racing on the West Coast, including Hawaii, whose Waikiki YC sent a team, alongside Balboa YC, Treasure Island, St. Francis YC, Newport Harbor YC, Del Rey YC, California YC, San Francisco YC, and San Diego YC. US Match Racing Area GHJL representative Bruce Stone reported that both qualifier #1 and #2 had the required number of international umpires and competitors from over 500 km away so they could qualify as a Grade 3 event, rewarding the top skippers with additional ISAF ranking points. San Diego’s regatta chair Summer Greene, together with the St. Francis, received around 24 formal applications or serious inquiries for the available 16 slots, leading to the possibility of staging a third West Coast qualifier in 2015 at another venue.
For more J/22 Match Racing sailing information in California, please contact: Bruce Stone- US Match Racing Area GHJL Representative- at email- bruce@brucestone.com or ph# 917-822-4060
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